A precious community hall that was under threat of being knocked down will continue serving its residents after a planning application was refused.

Recorder readers were saddened last week by the news that an application had been submitted to demolish Carrie’s Hall, Maybank Avenue, Elm Park, to replace it with four two-storey homes including private gardens and a communal car park.

The community hall has been standing for almost 60 years and it looks as if it will be there for many more as the application was turned down with one of the reasons being that it would “result in the irrevocable loss” of a well-used facility.

Owner of Phoenix Pre-school, which has been based at the hall since 2010, Nikki Monk said: “We are very happy that we are not going to be forced to move and the children will continue to have consistency in their education.

“We’re pleased the hall is going to be able to carry on supporting its community.”

Carrie’s Hall is home to groups including WeightWatchers, The Redeemed Christian Church of God, as well as pilates, zumba and yoga classes to name a few.

The hall and the surrounding land was donated by founder of the Round Table, Louis Marchesi, in 1958 to be used by the community.

In his memory, the land was called the Louis Marchesi Maybank Open Space.

However, when the site was sold off to a private owner, it faced the risk of development.

A planning application was also submitted last year to demolish the community hall to replace it with a block of five flats but this was withdrawn.